The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1887-09-09

Will suppose SIX fAi4 EtA4c Haets ~
pilot Boat -" Its average earnings
Will he abou, g.. Goo per month. It. ruo-
ming expenses will bc s+o0. which in
elude supplies of wood repairs, cooks
apprentices and boat keepers wager .aa3
all fees This is first set aside
Then twenty-five per cent ct $4o9. is
deposited with the compauys treasurer
as boat revenue exclusively for ,harc-
holders annual dividends The remaia.
ing $500 will be monthly divided among
the six owner pilots, who, it will thus
be seen. receive monthly share earning
payments as we'll a. anu4al dividends.
bringing the average pilots annual earn
ings 10 from $500 to S2o0O-sn utterly
inadequate compensation for what hc has
acquired and endured to become prof
cient in his perilous vocation The "jour-
ueymen,' or non-owning pilot simply
lives on what he can get until by some
good luck he may secure possession Of
share, the offer Of which. though seldom
made, must be always posted in the Com
mi-sioner's Office blackboard. and then
Of course, goes 10 the highest bidder. and
his opportunity for earning Is limited
almost exclusively to the chance assign
ments where pilot owners happen to be
absent and pilot must instantly be had
by an outgoing vessel Then his com
pensation is Just one sixth Of the sum
over and above the reserved 25 per cent.
and the deducted running expense pro
portion, which he receives from the boat
company at the end of the month.
The pilotage itself is txco by the Com
missioners, and il is wholly based on the
draught of vessels; and the pilot who
has brought a vessel into port, is inyari-
ably assigned to ''put her out to sea" un-
less the vessels master can urge good
reasons for a change. The scale of pilot
age is fixed on vessels Of from to 2S
feet draught, and the rate from -. -
to S4.SS proportionately For an illus
tratiou Of the single pilots frequently
single earnings for his company, a YES
sci of 90 feet draught may be CON
sidered. The inward pilotage" would
be $82.60 and the outward" SOL co.
To this added by law-though ships
agents latterly refuse its payment-an
outward "off-shore' piIotage, or fee
for pilotage from outside the Sandy
Hook lighthouse fifteen limit, and
like ''off shore outward pilotage, Of
S2065. So that during the summer
months the total pilotage of 20-foot
draught vessel from of shore points to
deep sea again may reach $Is5. 50, which
sum, from November TO April, is in
creased about Z per cent
The most distinguishing features of
New York pilot boats are their strength
and seaworthiness, They are not built
for beauty, no more than are their owners
remarkable for that quality. But like
their owners, they are staunch and sturdy
beyond comparison They are built low
in the water; average about fifty tons
burthen; are twO-masted schooner
rugged craft, carrying all sails; and have
a speed of from eleven to thirteen knots
an hour under stiff breeze. The smallest
boat in the service is the Enchantrcss,
thirty tons, and the largest the Alex. NJ.
Lawrence, eighty seven tons burthen;
and those not out at sea generally make
anchorage in the harbor over against the
eastern shore of Staten Island. and op-
posite, off Bay Ridge, by the pleasant
Long Island bluffs, Nesting here, with
furled sails, and occasionally with colors
flying, with everything trim and taut for
instant service, they form one of the
prettiest and certainly the most sugges-
tive pictures of the many interesting
groupings of this, the noblest of the
worlds great harbors.